Question Wi-Fi 6 AX203?

[erik343]

I’m going to buy a ThinkBook 16 G7 or G6.

The ThinkBook 16 G6 has WiFi 6 AX.

The ThinkBook 16 G7 has WiFi 6 AX203.

What is the difference between WiFi 6 AX and AX203?

Thanks!

 

[BFG-9000]

Wifi 6 AX is a wireless standard.

AX203 is a specific wireless adapter made by Intel which supports Wifi 6 AX

 

[bill001g]

This is where getting the exact part number might make a difference.

There are a number of variations of wifi6.

What is strange is the ax203 is newer but it doesn't support 160mhz radio bands that the older version of the nic does.

The other issue is many times there are many submodels of laptops that have slightly different part lists. Some have say more memory or maybe a different wifi card.

It likely does not make a huge difference.

Now if you could get Wifi6E that might have much more bandwidth but you would also need a wifi6e router.

Wifi6e is a newer form of "AX". The actual name is 802.11ax

 

[lantis3]

AX201: Max speed 2.4Gbps, 160MHz bandwidth
https://www.intel.com/content/www/u...93/intel-wifi-6-ax201-gig/specifications.html

AX203: Max speed 1.2Gbps, 80MHz bandwidth
https://www.intel.com/content/www/us/en/products/sku/229220/intel-wifi-6-ax203/specifications.html

---

Oops, Lenovo 16 G6's WiFi 6 module is from Mediatek, top speed is also 1200Mbps = 1.2Gbps

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Lenov...imedia-laptop-with-a-Ryzen-7000.774481.0.html

 

[erik343]

The ThinkBook 16 G6 part # is:
21KH006SUS

The ThinkBook 16 G7 part # is:
21MS006BUS

Look these up on Lenovo.com for the specs…

 

[lantis3]

The reality, motherboard vendor tends not to mention chipset if it's not from INTEL.

To cut cost, vendors usually won't state the network chip vendor, wifi or ethernet (could be Realtek, Qualcomm, Mediatek, Marvell, etc, anything other than INTEL)

 

[bill001g]

I would not worry about it . It says wifi6 2x2 on both means it is likely the same.

If it said wifi6e or wifi7 then there might be more difference.

Again don't worry about the numbers too much. Almost all modern wifi is faster than what you need unless you have a very special use case

 

[erik343]

I just bought the ThinkBook 16 G7!
Can you upgrade the WiFi M.2 card in this laptop? I want WiFi 7 and Bluetooth 5.3.

 

[bill001g]

My guess is no but look on youtube for disassembly videos even if they don't talk about the wifi you might see it. The antenna wires are fairly obvious going to the chip. If the chip is soldered you are out of luck. If it is in a socket then you can likely swap it.
Many thinkbook solder the wifi chip.

Key here is you must know if the part is CNVIO or not. It is easy to find out once you can actually see the wifi adapter and get the part number off it.

 

[erik343]

I watched a video of a ThinkBook 16 G6 disassembly and it had a screw holding the wireless adapter in place. I couldn’t find a ThinkBook 16 G7 video.

I’m going to call tech support once I get my laptop on Friday, but I need a serial number. I will just open the case too as I have to upgrade the SSD and RAM anyways.

Eventually I’m going to buy a new router with WiFi 7, so that would be cool! Also, I would love to have Bluetooth 5.3!

 

[bill001g]

I would look at the card that is in the thinkbook when you get it.

The intel card that supports wifi7 is called BE200...do not use the BE202 it doesn't support 320mhz which is a key feature of wifi7.

What you have to be careful of is many/most wifi cards are slot a/e. This means they fit a A slot or E slot motherboard...or one that is both. Problem is the BE200 is a M slot only. This will not fit in a motherboard that has a A slot connector.

You are going to have to be sure the slot can take a "E" only card.

There are also windows support issues not sure if they have those worked out. I know it only supports windows 11 without lots of hacking.

 

[erik343]

I found a link to a photo of my current AX203 WiFi adapter in the laptop that I bought:
https://fccid.io/PD9AX203NG/External-Photos/External-Photos-5101334.pdf

Can you tell from the photo if it is a type E slot? I compared it to the BE200 and it looked the same…

 

[bill001g]

You can see it is a e only card so that would mean the slot in the pc also is e only.

Just be sure to check that is the actual card that is being used.

 

[erik343]

Are the slots fool proof? Can you plug an a card into an e slot or vice verca? Will that do any damage?

 

[bill001g]

Nope that is why the sockets are different the wrong card won't fit.......well unless you force it the difference is just a small plastic tab you could break off.

 

[Ralston18]

@erik343

Updates should be okay but read the warranty information carefully.

If you break something or otherwise run afoul of the warranty terms then you may be stuck with the costs for parts and repairs.

 

[erik343]

I bought accidental damage insurance! That covers damaging the hardware after doing upgrades.

Also, is there such thing as an A+E M.2 socket?
If so do you have a link to a photo or diagram? I know there are A+E M.2 keys yes…